"You're sure?"
"Positive.I've done a full text search.The name doesn't appear in any of Patricia's research documents, her notes, or her correspondence about the project.Jake Honanie had no connection to the genealogical work."
Kari felt her earlier theory crumble.If Jake wasn't connected to the project, why had the killer taken him?What was the pattern?
"Alright," she said."Can you email me the files?Everything you've got access to now."
"Will do.Give me twenty minutes to organize them into something readable."
Kari ended the call and looked at Polacca."Jake's not in the files.He had no connection to Patricia's research."
"Then why grab him?"Polacca asked, puzzled."It doesn't fit the pattern."
"Maybe we don't understand the pattern as well as we thought."Kari rubbed her eyes, feeling the effects of the long night."We need to go back to basics.Look at everyone who was close to the project—not just participants, but people in Patricia and Robert's orbit.Someone who would have known what they were working on, even if they weren't directly involved in the research."
Polacca was looking at her phone, frowning.
"What is it?"Kari asked.
"I reached out to David Lomatuway'ma a little bit ago to set up an appointment for today—to go over what he knows about ceremonial masks, help us track where the one used in Emma's attack might have come from—but he says he can't.Says there's a 'family matter' that needs his 'immediate attention.'"
Kari tapped her fingers on her leg."The night after Emma's attack, he suddenly has a family emergency?"
"Suspicious, isn't it?"
Kari stood, her exhaustion momentarily forgotten."Where does David live?"
"About twenty minutes from here.Why?"
"Because I want to talk to him.Now.Not when it's convenient for him.Right now."
They signed out with the hospital staff and drove toward David Lomatuway'ma's address.The sky was still lightening in the east, that deep blue that comes before true sunrise.
David lived in a modest house on the outskirts of the village, with a neat yard and a newer-model truck parked in the driveway.Lights were on inside, visible through the front windows.
They approached the front door, and Kari knocked firmly.After a moment, she heard movement inside, then David's voice through the door."Who is it?"
"Detective Blackhorse and Officer Polacca.We need to speak with you, Mr.Lomatuway'ma."
A pause."Can this wait until—"
"No, it can't," Kari said."Please open the door."
Another pause, longer this time.Then the sound of locks disengaging, and the door opened a crack.David stood in the gap, his body blocking most of the view into his house.He was dressed in a t-shirt and sweatpants, as if he'd been up for a while but hadn't bothered to dress for the day.
But it was his face that caught Kari's attention.Even in the dim porch light, she could see the redness across his left temple and cheek—angry, irritated skin.
The kind of irritation that might come from scalding liquid.
"Mr.Lomatuway'ma," Kari said, keeping her voice calm and professional even as her pulse quickened."Can we come in?"
"I...I'm not really prepared for visitors.The house is a mess."David's hand remained on the door, keeping it mostly closed.He kept turning his face away.
"This won't take long," Polacca said in a friendly voice."Just a few questions."
David hesitated.Finally, he stepped back and opened the door wider."Alright.Come in."
The interior of the house was neat—a living room with comfortable furniture, walls decorated with traditional Hopi artwork, and family photographs.On a side table near the couch, Kari noticed several pottery tools and what looked like materials for ceremonial item restoration.
